75 years ago, on Dec. 13, 1937, Japanese troops captured the city of Nanjing, then the capital of the Chinese republic led by Chiang Kai-shek and went on a six-week campaign of carnage and slaughter that would be forever remembered as the “Rape of Nanjing.” Reports document widespread rape and the indiscriminate killing of civilians; some death tolls estimate over a quarter of a million people were killed. The incident, though, still rankles Sino-Japanese relations. Japanese nationalists contend that the death tolls are inflated and the majority killed were resisting Japanese occupation. To this day, pages in Japanese school history textbooks can incite heated protests on the streets in China. Then and now, the Nanjing massacre remains one of the darkest events of the last century.—Ishaan Tharoor

I read some posts and up to a point I understang what are your feelings about the event. However, from the perspective of a Chinese I would like to post some opinions. First and the most important, the Chinese government host a national memorial for those victims of Nanking rape, not to deepen hatred between China and Japan but to remind people, especially for descendant of Chinese people who might lack of basic historic recognition about WWT, when the whole country or race fall far behind others in economy, industrial production, they must be defeated.

Second, the reason why Chinese people could not forgive Japanese invasion is that the Japanese government never ever made an apology to Chinese people formally and honestly. In contrast, some officers dare to deny the event which had been identified by thousands of documents and files separately existed at US, Britain, German and Russian mesumes. So, from the attitudes to the historic tradegy, their( Japanese government) actions are unacceptable. At least, those people should behave like a responsible adult not a childish student. Why they cannot apologise to victims in Asia not only in China just like what Willy Brandt did to Jewish to hopely ask forgiveness from China and other countries?

The last but not the least, you say how Tibetan being badly treated, at least you should cite some true sources to provide these unless as my knowledge I can believe that is also propaganda which is one of functions played by a mass media society. You some people compared the so-called Tibetan incident to the rape of Nanking, are you kidding? These two things are completely different essentially. There are having 260 million students studying at U.S in 2012, which means we better understand your country than you do about China. Because the majority of news happen at America we can expericece in our person or can be witnessed by our friends not having reliance on reports of media.

In any case, China has had SOME sort of apology from Japan so they really need to let go. Sure its horrible. But as an outsider looking at this squabble, it feels like china is almost loving the fact that they can victimize themselves. The holocaust was worse and even that didnt garner this much DRAGGING hate. I have a feeling that if japan asked china what sort of apology they want, they would ask for something totally outrageous (like provide them with money for the next 100 years) and get butt-hurt if its not met. China isnt exactly known to be humble.

Well this seems like a perfect time to bring this up, China 1 - Japan 0 , but then again we should also be reminded that China also supported Khmer Rouge which cost about a couple million innocent Cambodian, oh yea we should even mention that because it's not serving any political agenda...

These photos are still denied by the Japanese? No wonder there are problems with China. Japanese text nooks deny such a terrible past. Japan does not want to say sorry because most of the offsprings are from the same that caused the massacre. I believe lee than a handfull were ever executed.

"Vinegar Joe" Stilwell supported the Chinese during WWII and could have done a lot more if he hadn't been continually baulked by Chiang Kai-Shek, who was indecisive, ineffectual and self-serving. Stilwell also got pushback from General Chenault, the guy who organised the air bridge over the Hump.

Nevertheless, Stilwell persevered and managed to put together a Chinese force with which he marched into Burma and put a bit of stick about the Japanese

True, this was one of the worst massacres of the 20th century, but should we really dwell on these horrible events? I can see looking back at them as reminders of what can happen, but I really don't think I would want to see some of the more gruesome photos taken during the time of this event. Some of the photos even after 75 years can evoke such intense negative feelings, and I find that unusually frightening.

As a Chinese descendant in Thailand, I've been in agony anytime I read the Nanjing slaughter and related topics. Nonetheless, this incident has passed for 75 years and the Japanese took the rap of their aggression in atomic bomb of 2 cities which caused hundreds thousand of people died or serious injured. It got even. Let bygones be bygones!

As Chinese, we should never forget what Japanese have done in China! Nevertheless, we have been supporting Japan's economy by cooperating with their industries in the past decades......we are just short in memory!!

Suddenly, the disputed islands waked up the nation and rioting follows! In a few weeks, everything will be back to normal and the Chinese are going to buy Japanese goods as id Nanjing Slaughter has never occurred. We are just a sad nation.........

Commenting only on what happened in Nanking and leaving the present Chinese politics under communist rule out of it: The photos were hard to look at, and from what I know these are not the worst. Generally speaking, war is a sad thing and to excuse what happened to any group of people b/c you disagree with their government's policies is the saddest. B/c of this reasoning- people turn a blind eye to plights b/c they think a group of people for whatever reasons "deserve it". Its the same reason Hitler and Japan got away with what they did for much longer then they should have, and countless other historical tragedies. And if you believe that a group of Chinese civilians deserved what they got from the Japanese (before the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950), then you are no better then those you are calling out as criminals. Tibetans did not deserve the treatment they received under Communist rule, and no more than the Chinese under Japanese rule. Too see any human suffering, regardless of race and politics, should be enough to move one to heart break. Sympathy has a broader umbrella then some allow.

America’s lack of composure
reflects the complexity of China-U.S. relations. No matter how China
reiterates the path of peaceful development and shows good will in
practice, the United States remains distrustful of China. The United
States has a tradition of creating imaginary enemies, and China seems
to be qualified as its imaginary enemy from cultural, historical, and
social perspectives. However, imaginary enemies are “imaginary”
for a reason, and it is unwise to translate strategic mistrust into
strategic confrontation.

This is why the US bombed Nagasaki and Hiroshima; the Japanese of this time were brutal and merciless. The things they did to their own people during WW2 were also terrible. The Japanese were willing to keep sacrificing their people in WW2 which left the US with only one option to stop them.

China is the continuous ancient civilization for millenniums. Our ancestors have experienced peak and bottom cycles, weathered through up and down for millenniums. The youngest generation like me will grow up to full fledged soon with the mother land recovering from huge physical and mental damages mainly caused by the devilish Japanese for the last two centuries. We will and have to let the sick Japanese right wing and its supporters on their island nation fully know what justice and wrath is, soon.

I sincerely appreciate the help, credit and sacrifice of American people, which saved numerous lives and dignity of Chinese people, during that crucial grim period, though I only can represent myself not my nation now.

It is OUTRAGEOUS that the Japanese right wing, including many government seniors, still annually go to worship the Devilish sick Nazi criminals who committed enormous inhuman crimes, such as mass rape hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Korean women, Sex Slaves, Massacres millions of innocent civilians including children, 731biochemistry live human body experiment Unit, Pingdingshan Massacre, Zhenjiang Massacre, Nanjing Massacre, Yangping Massacre, Suqing Massacre, Sandu Island Atrocity, ChangJiao Atrocity, Chongqing Bombings, Pingyang Massacre, 516 unit, Panjiadai Massacre, sadly the Japanese government seniors( including this former PM Shinzo Abe when he was incumbent) go to worship the criminals even now at 21th century, blatantly deny Nanjing Massacre(by Abe at last week again), and shamelessly water down, cover up and bleach the textbooks.

You don't know a damn thing of what you're talking about, because China renounced reparations in 1972 (China let Japan stop paying for war reparations). The Holocaust was also not worse. The Germans actually believed in their racial superiority so they banned their own troops from raping Jewish women, and they killed around 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, while Japanese were hidieous rapists and slaughtered way more than 6 million.

@MerchantMmo Do you even know how many people, innocent civilians and soldiers, the Japanese killed? Do you know about the competition between two Japanese officers of who can behead the most civilians with a sword? I have nothing against the Japanese, but I have something against the Japanese soldiers in WW2. Stay out of conversations you know nothing of.

@MerchantMmo You're just so ridiculous, how on earth did you get the ridiculous conclusion and the so called fact that Japan has apologized? Japanese even changed their textbook to deny the fact, but everything seems to be different when it comes out of your mouth.

@MerchantMmo the fun fact is japan never apologize in any official documentation (i read an article on bbc), i mean if you wanna apologize why cant you officially do it? im sure the chinese will forgive japan, but why continue to procrastinate?

China wants an apology - it is not even asking for monetary compensation anymore. However, the apology must be set in stone - in the past, apologies to China and South Korea were made, but with a change in administration in Japan, they then just get revoked. What China and South Korea want is for Japan to make apologies that are set in stone, that will not be touched no matter who becomes PM in Japan.

@carelord What is your problem? Why is it that you can only see violence? Did the Nanjing Massacre affect you directly? Not everything needs to be "an eye for an eye". If you are that old, do you think the current generation is in full agreement with you?

@carelord What is so great about talking Chinese civilization when human rights and political freedom is suppressed today. Where are rights and freedom in China today? Do any of Chinese citizen ever elected their Beijing leaders?: Mao, Deng Xioping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinpin? Even a small country like Bhutan can elect their Prime Minister. Chinese people should do something about it seriously. Free China!

@carelord Sorry to inform you about this time in history, the American people did not fight in this war. It was during WWII that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and engaged us in WWII. What happened in China was that the Japanese sought to take control of China and massacred millions of Chinese civilians. And the U.S., after dropping the Atom Bomb on Japan, went over to Europe to help end the Nazi's from taking over the world. Many American lives were lost during this time in history; and it was in Europe, not Asia.

@carelord Chinese govt is doing a far worse in occupied Tibet than what Japanese had done in its own country. So, as long as Chinese people don't raise voice against its own govt's record of continuous occupation and abuse in Tibet until then China does not have moral rights to condemn Japanese crimes in Nanjing! That is the common sense.

@carelord And I am so sure that the high officials of Communist Party visit the Red Army Martyrs Cemetery of the Sichuan-Shaanxi and salute to the fallen soldiers who massacred and raped the Vietnamese, the Tibetans and the Uyghur civilians.

@Wally024@carelord What? Japan was bombed and surrendered after the Nazis surrendered and after Hitler killed himself. And a whole lot of US troops fought and were killed in the Pacific theater of WW2. Try to stay out of conversations if you don't know what you're talking about.

Like how Tibetans attacked China in 1930 in the Sino-Tibetan War, and how Soviet backed Uyghur rebels mass murdererd Chinese civilians in the Ili Rebellion from 1944-1946, which was BEFORE the Communists took over China in 1949 and paid them back for what they inflicted on Chinese civilians.

Or how Vietnamese mass murdered and raped millions of Montagnard civilians in the central highlands of Vietnam.

@KEI.MAJIMA@LEEFUCHEN And your's sounds so imperialistic. Don't you guys ever remember anything or has the emrgence of the new industrialized China and it's growing influence in the region makes one forget that the Japanese are the way they are today because they were the subjects of a lesson that there is always someone who possesses greater power than they? Just imagine if the "bombs" weren't dropped?